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The asteroid (6478) Gault is seen with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, showing two narrow, comet-like tails of debris that tell us that the asteroid is slowly undergoing self-destruction. The bright streaks surrounding the asteroid are background stars. Image credit: NASA / ESA / K. Meech & J. Kleyna, University of Hawaii / O. Hainaut, European Southern Observatory.

Astronomers Find Color-Shifting Asteroid

Sep 4, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility have caught an active asteroid called (6478) Gault in the act of changing color — in the near-infrared...

This image, which combines data from ALMA, Hubble and MUSE, shows the barred spiral galaxy Messier 95. Image credit: ESO / R. Leaman / D. Gadotti / K. Sandstrom / D. Calzetti.

Astronomers Observe ‘Stellar Feedback’ in Spiral Galaxy Messier 95

Sep 3, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers have used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer...

Trio of Super-Earths Found Orbiting Red Dwarf Gliese 1061

Sep 3, 2019 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers from the Red Dots Collaboration have detected three rocky exoplanets orbiting Gliese 1061, which is the 20th nearest star to the Sun. The outermost...

Gaia’s all-sky view of our Milky Way Galaxy and neighboring galaxies, based on measurements of nearly 1.7 billion stars. Brighter regions indicate denser concentrations of especially bright stars, while darker regions correspond to patches of the sky where fewer bright stars are observed. The color representation is obtained by combining the total amount of light with the amount of blue and red light recorded by Gaia in each patch of the sky. The bright horizontal structure that dominates the image is the Galactic plane, the flattened disc that hosts most of the stars in our home Galaxy. In the middle of the image, the Galactic center appears vivid and teeming with stars. Darker regions across the Galactic plane correspond to foreground clouds of interstellar gas and dust, which absorb the light of stars located further away, behind the clouds. Many of these conceal stellar nurseries where new generations of stars are being born. Sprinkled across the image are also many globular and open clusters -- groupings of stars held together by their mutual gravity, as well as entire galaxies beyond our own. The two bright objects in the lower right of the image are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, two dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way. In small areas of the image where no color information was available -- to the lower left of the Galactic center, to the upper left of the Small Magellanic Cloud, and in the top portion of the map -- an equivalent grayscale value was assigned. Image credit: ESA / Gaia / DPAC.

ESA’s Gaia Space Telescope Traces Milky Way’s Stellar Families

Sep 2, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers using data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft have identified a number of clusters, associations and co-moving groups of stars within about 3,300...

This Hubble image shows the dwarf galaxy UGC 685, which lies in the constellation of Pisces, 15.7 million light-years away. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Three filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / LEGUS Team / B. Tully / D. Calzetti / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Images Dwarf Galaxy UGC 685

Sep 2, 2019 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking new photo of a dwarf irregular galaxy named UGC 685. This Hubble image shows the dwarf galaxy...

An artist’s impression of an exo-Io undergoing extreme mass loss. The hidden exomoon is enshrouded in an irradiated gas cloud shining in bright orange-yellow, as would be seen with a sodium filter. Patches of sodium clouds are seen to trail the lunar orbit, possibly driven by the gas giant’s magnetosphere. Image credit: Thibaut Roger / University of Bern.

Astronomers Find Evidence for Volcanic Moon Orbiting Jupiter-Like Exoplanet WASP-49b

Aug 30, 2019 by News Staff

A volcanically active rocky exomoon may orbit WASP-49b, a hot gas giant approximately 550 light-years away in the constellation of Lepus. An artist’s...

An artist’s impression of a hot-Jupiter exoplanet. Image credit: C. Carreau / ESA.

Hot Jupiters Have Rocky Clouds on Their Nightsides

Aug 29, 2019 by News Staff

The temperature on the nightsides of short-period gas giants (hot Jupiters) is surprisingly uniform, suggesting the dark sides of these exoplanets have...

An artist’s concept of a giant exoplanet. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / S. Wiessinger.

Astronomers Find Giant Exoplanet with Extreme Orbit

Aug 29, 2019 by News Staff

Using data from several ground-based telescopes, astronomers found that a nearby star called HR 5183 hosts a giant planet with an orbital period of between...

This composite image of Cassiopeia A combines data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory color coded by element, ground-based images obtained in 1996 and 1999, and images taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope between 2004 and 2011. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / STScI.

Chandra Tracks Evolution of Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant

Aug 28, 2019 by News Staff

A new video released by NASA’s Chandra mission shows how Cassiopeia A has evolved over more than a dozen years in X-ray light. Cassiopeia A, which is...

GRB 160821B occurred in the outskirts of a spiral galaxy about two billion light-years away, at a projected offset of 52,185 light-years from the galaxy’s center. Image credit: Troja et al, doi: 10.1093/mnras/stz2255.

Astronomers Detect New Kilonova Explosion

Aug 28, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers have re-examined data from GRB 160821B, a short duration gamma-ray burst spotted on August 21, 2016, and found evidence for a kilonova, an...

An artist’s rendering of potentially habitable exoplanets, plus Earth (top right) and Mars (top center). Image credit: PHL@UPR Arecibo, phl.upr.edu / NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Alien Life on Some Extrasolar Planets Could Be More Diverse than on Earth

Aug 26, 2019 by News Staff

In a new study, University of Chicago researcher Stephanie Olson and colleagues modeled climates and ocean habitats of different types of extrasolar planets...

It’s raining on Titan. Image credit: David A. Hardy, AstroArt / NASA.

Astronomers Detect Propadiene on Saturn’s Moon Titan

Aug 26, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

Astronomers using the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) have spotted propadiene — a colorless, flammable gas, best known as a fuel for specialized...

This Hubble image shows the planetary nebula NGC 5307. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). It is based on data obtained through two filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Wade et al.

Hubble Space Telescope Observes NGC 5307

Aug 26, 2019 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced a spectacular image of a planetary nebula called NGC 5307. This Hubble image shows the planetary nebula...

Astronomers Peer Deep into Turbulent Atmosphere of Jupiter

Aug 23, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has managed to peer deep into the Jovian atmosphere using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)...

An artist’s concept of the SN 2016iet pair-instability supernova. Image credit: Gemini Observatory / NSF / AURA / Joy Pollard.

New Type of Supernova Totally Annihilates Its Parent Star

Aug 22, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers have announced the discovery of the most massive star ever known to be destroyed by a supernova explosion. Dubbed SN 2016iet, the explosive...

Two giant planets, Beta Pictoris b and c, orbit the nearby, young star Beta Pictoris. Image credit: P. Rubini / A.-M. Lagrange.

Second Planet Found Hiding in Beta Pictoris System

Aug 21, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using data from ESO’s High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) instrument, a multinational team of astronomers has uncovered evidence for...

An artist’s conception of the Earth-sized exoplanet LHS 3844b which orbits a small star 49 light-years from Earth. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt, IPAC.

Earth-Sized Exoplanet LHS 3844b is Similar to Mercury, Astronomers Say

Aug 20, 2019 by News Staff

LHS 3844b, a 1.3-Earth-radii terrestrial world in an 11-hour orbit around the small nearby star LHS 3844, very likely has little to no atmosphere and could...

The Kohnen Station in Antarctica. Image credit: Sepp Kipfstuhl.

Scientists Find Interstellar Iron in Antarctic Snow

Aug 20, 2019 by Natali Anderson

A team of researchers from Germany, Austria and Australia has found traces of the radioactive isotope iron-60 — the tell-tale signature of a supernova...

This image shows the planetary nebula NGC 2371/2. The picture was snapped by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). The color composite was assembled from images taken in visible and infrared light. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Wade et al.

Hubble Spots Bipolar Planetary Nebula

Aug 19, 2019 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has delivered an unrivalled snapshot of the bipolar (two-lobed) planetary nebula NGC 2371/2. This image shows the planetary...